HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES FOR POTASSIUM

MICHELLE COOPER: Next, we are going to talk about potassium. Potassium is a mineral that helps maintain normal fluid balance in your body, helps control blood pressure and reduces your risk of kidney stones. Potassium is particularly high in foods like bananas, sweet potatoes, yogurt, yellow fin tuna and soy beans. Most of the time, you can obtain all the potassium you need from a normal diet. However, if you are an athlete and you are doing strenuous exercise in the heat, you may be losing a significant amount of potassium through your sweat. In addition to drinking water to replenish your fluids, you probably are going to need to replenish that potassium. The best way to do this would be by grabbing a banana or after your workout, having some yogurt or sweet potato with your meal that night. And make sure that you drink enough fluid so that you retain the potassium needed to maintain normal fluid balance in your body. In addition, if you have high blood pressure and you are on a diuretic, you may be releasing potassium in your urine. Your doctor may advise that you take a potassium supplement or eat a banana everyday. Also, in pregnant women, when your fluid--your normal fluid balance goes up due to the pregnancy, your potassium needs may increase as well. Rather than take a supplement, why not try getting your potassium from foods such as these: the banana, sweet potato, yogurt, tuna or soybeans.